Bottom of the fourth inning.
Seidou's lineup turned over again.
Rinichi thought as he carried his bat to the box, Just batted last inning, and already it's my turn again… Being the cleanup hitter sure has its perks.
There was one out, runners on first and second.
Originally, Shirasu had ant to bunt Kuramochi along like before, but this ti Ugumori opted to get Kuramochi out instead. A bit forced—luck factored in for Ugumori. Still, having a fast runner on base was troubleso.
Shirasu was on second, Haruichi on first.
At the crack of the bat, Seiichi's face darkened.
The ball soared clear over the fence.
With one swing, Rinichi had brought in three runs.
The roar of the crowd swelled, threatening to drown him out.
Rinichi's eyes left the arc of the ball. He tossed his bat aside and jogged the bases without once glancing back at Umiya on the mound.
"Seidou is completely dominating now… I thought their batting lineup would be weaker than in sumr."
"But their battery is just too strong. Not only defensively, their whole core offense is carried by those two."
"No way, it's not just them—everyone looks solid."
More and more spectators had their eyes glued to Rinichi and Miyuki after those ho runs.
"Seidou's really strong. Looks like they're on track for back-to-back championships."
"I want to see Seidou against Inashiro again."
"If Seidou's smashing Ugumori—the team that beat Inashiro—then they'll crush Inashiro themselves."
"Since sumr, Seidou's been absurdly strong…"
"That's because they have a true ace now—the No.1 pitcher in the nation."
"See? Having a real ace transforms a team completely."
"Man… it's outrageous."
Amid the chatter, the umpire's call rang out: "Ball four! Walk!"
Umiya, drenched in sweat, scowled. Damn… he's good at picking pitches.
Maezono followed by smacking one back toward the mound. Umiya tried blocking with his foot again, but the ball ricocheted away, putting two n on.
Back in the dugout, Rinichi pulled off his helt and leaned to the side.
If we're lucky, this ga will end early. Fine by —I'm not really interested in playing Ugumori anymore. Lost a bit of its thrill.
He stripped off his glove and sat down.
By the ti the lineup cycled through to the ninth batter, Seidou had tacked on another run, four in the inning total.
Next inning, it'll be my turn again. Which ans… this ga will end early.
As sides switched, Rinichi picked up his gear and strode to the mound. And fittingly, the first batter was Umiya.
Rinichi adjusted his grip under the glove, turned his body, and fixed his gaze on Umiya—calm, detached, eyes empty of emotion. Then he looked away as lightly as if Umiya didn't exist.
Umiya gritted his teeth, tightened his grip, and swung.
"Strike!"
"Strike!"
"Strike! Batter out!"
That final call seed to declare everything over.
Returning to the dugout with his bat, Umiya's face fell—only to see his teammates smiling, encouraging him.
"It's okay, Seiichi."
"Yeah."
"Just give it your all. The ga's not over yet—we still have a chance!"
Another player nearly said at least we still have sumr but choked back the words.
Rinichi didn't know what was going on in Ugumori's dugout. He just glanced over briefly, then accepted the ball from Miyuki. Rolling it idly in his palm, his face betrayed nothing.
Miyuki caught every small motion, falling silent.
…
"Strike! Batter out!"
That closed the top of the fifth perfectly.
His teammates crowded him with "Nice pitching!" but Rinichi seed not to hear, still blank-faced.
Then ca his turn at bat. Runner on base.
"Batting fourth, pitcher Kamishiro."
He scraped the dirt with his foot several tis before settling into his stance.
"Ball!"
He didn't swing—looked like he wasn't even serious, just raising the bat for show.
Ugumori's catcher frowned in confusion.
"Strike!"
Still no swing.
Even Seidou's bench looked puzzled. Rinichi never let strikes go by.
"Strike!"
Two strikes now. Even the crowd felt sothing was off.
But when the fourth pitch ca, Rinichi's head lifted slightly. Eyes calm, bat gripped tight, he slid his left foot forward half a step, twisted his torso—swung.
A beautiful ho run.
Everyone instantly forgot the strangeness of his earlier at-bat.
The cheers thundered.
Rinichi casually dropped the bat, jogging ho slowly, exhaling.
That inning only added two runs, but it was enough to end the ga early.
Seidou triumphed in a crushing 11–0 victory.
"Thank you for the ga!"
Next ca the post-ga handshake.
When it was Seiichi's turn, Rinichi froze for a mont. He looked up and t Umiya's smiling face.
Seeing Rinichi not respond, Umiya extended his hand a little further forward—almost as if forcing him into the handshake.
Rinichi: "…"
"Honestly… your pitching and hitting are both really strong—"
"But we're not going to give in that easily. Sumr's still ahead… the next ti we et, it'll be at Koshien!"
Rinichi hesitated, then slowly raised his hand, but Umiya had already grabbed it first.
Rinichi: "…"
"You're from East Tokyo…"
"Talk after you've beaten Teito."
"Teito has a really strong pitcher."
Umiya didn't take offense. "Eh? Really? There's actually soone you acknowledge?"
His face lit up with mock shock, like he'd just uncovered so earth-shattering secret.
He had assud Rinichi was the arrogant, dismissive type—so much so that he'd braced himself for ridicule.
And yet, the real reason he approached was because Rinichi seed like soone… interesting.
Rinichi pulled his hand back, looking away before finally turning to leave.
What a strange guy… especially considering what I said to him in the bathroom earlier.
Putting his cap back on, Rinichi pressed the brim low over his eyes, his gaze calm once again.
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